Wenger knife warranty

T.J. Hooker · **on:** May 09, 2012, 11:32:03 AM

Hi

I bought a old Wenger soldier knife off Ebay thinking it had a electrician blade or something similar.

Turns out its just a blade thats been cut back by a bench grinder

.

The previous owner must had broken the blade in half, so he or she must have used a bench grinder or something similar to make it into a small blade.

Now if I send it to Wenger would they fix it and send it back?

I live in Australia so not sure where to send it.
Would I need a receipt(all I got is the Ebay receipt).

Its a shame as it was $20.50 including shipping to Australia. I wouldn't care on $20.50 but I'm quite tight on money.

magentus · **Reply #1 on:** May 09, 2012, 11:41:12 AM

That's a shame. Do you not have any comeback on the ebay seller for mis representing it?

I'm not sure Wenger would replace the blade if it's been deliberately changed, but someone else might be along who knows different.

Maybe you could risk it and break the blade and then send it off?

Probably best to pursue the ebay seller first though.

Best of luck either way,

magentus

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #2 on:** May 09, 2012, 11:50:05 AM

Well I left the seller good feed back for fast postage and good communication ...

I truly believe that he did not know but I'm not sure really thats why I left the good feedback.

Plus I would have to send it back to America with tracking(which probably be more then the knife cost it self).

He had good pics of the knife so I should have really saw my self that the knife was stuffed.

magentus · **Reply #3 on:** May 09, 2012, 11:53:06 AM

Ah but you were looking at it through SAK goggles and they told you that you were bidding on an Electrician.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #4 on:** May 09, 2012, 12:10:40 PM

Well like I said the postage to send it back to America would be expensive and I have left good feed back.

Plus I paid by credit card through Paypal with out signing in. I assume I do not get paypal protection?

If I was to send it back to Wenger would I send here?

Sydney Service Centre
Wenger Australia
Level 1, 52 Balfour Street
Chippendale NSW 2008
TL 61 2 9699 9922

http://www.wenger.net.au/submenu.asp?smid=21

Only watch warranty, where is knife warranty?

Thanks.

magentus · **Reply #5 on:** May 09, 2012, 12:17:27 PM

When I said SAK goggles it was a joke - you know, like beer goggles?

Try this link for Knife warranties for Oz;

http://www.wenger.ch/contact-us?region=1169&country=AU&category=1027

Email them first and your nearest dealership will mail you back.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #6 on:** May 09, 2012, 12:54:54 PM

Should I say I broke the knife and tried to fix it but it just wasnt the same so I want them to fix it?

magentus · **Reply #7 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:06:47 PM

I think if you admit to modifying the blade that will invalidate the warranty.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #8 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:33:56 PM

Then I .... do what?

Bash it with rock to make it look like it just broke?

What if I wreck it even more and then when Wenger gets it they won't fix it?

magentus · **Reply #9 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:38:38 PM

I'm not going to tell you what to do with it, you asked for information.

I do know that modifying the blade invalidates the warranty.

Best of luck

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #10 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:41:15 PM

But its not really modifying as it broke in half(I think) and all I did was try to sharpen so I could continue to use it.

Thats what I would say if they said they wont fix it because of the blade been sharpen.

magentus · **Reply #11 on:** May 09, 2012, 01:58:24 PM

Like I said, I'm just giving you information. It's up to you what you do with it.

Let us know how you get on.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #12 on:** May 09, 2012, 02:03:24 PM

Hopefully someone else can tell me there experience with Wenger warranty.

Do Wenger compensate me for postage?

MultiMat · **Reply #13 on:** May 09, 2012, 02:47:55 PM

Mate I think you best chance of resolution would of been via the Ebay seller , you could lodge a Paypal claim if the time period has not lapsed.You may get a refund , possibly a partial refund

.
I am a really puzzled that you left positive feedback on this item

.

I would suggest you contact Wenger HQ & ask. I think deliberately damaging the blade further to make a warranty claim is just plain wrong & abusing the warranty process + there is the very obvious issue of the blade has been most definitely modified by the owner(previous). If the Ebay listing clearly showed the damaged blade you may struggle to get a refund via Paypal & expecting Wenger to fix it is a little unfair.

Like I said contact Wenger HQ & tell them what has occurred & ask if it would be possible to fix the damaged blade. I think they would be well with in their rights to say no given the blade has been modified by the owner ,+ a snapped blade normally does not occur in 'normal' use & generally falls into the realm of 'incorrect use/abuse' & could well be rejected for repair.

If Wenger is willing to fix the knife you would pay postage too Switzerland & they would pay return postage to you. Given you have said the blade damage was clearly shown in the Ebay listing I think you would struggle to get a refund from the Ebay seller & expecting Wenger to fix it is a bit of a stretch

, just my opinion.

basilio · **Reply #14 on:** May 09, 2012, 03:40:51 PM

I remember that knife auction!
Is it this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&hash=item3cc55c774a&item=261009209162&nma=true&pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&rt=nc&si=YZK0yzBGWIZPVv6jbfc7Xs9Ne2E%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
Looking at the seller feedback, I think he was in good faith and didn't know about the blade

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #15 on:** May 09, 2012, 04:06:45 PM

Yep thats the one.
I was thinking I was going to get a ultra rare 1981 Wenger!

I not sure why someone would mod a knife in that way... seems completely pointless to me.
I petty sure the previous owner would have broke it(who knows how) and tried to fix it.

The way MultiMat says makes me sorta feel bad. Not sure if I should really try.

If I were to send it off wouldn't I send it to the Wenger Australia and then they would send it off to Switzerland?

basilio · **Reply #16 on:** May 09, 2012, 04:19:57 PM

I'm not sure about Wenger, but I recently had a similar experience with an old Victorinox which needed repair.
I contacted directly the official Victorinox distributor for Italy and they gave me the nearest Victorinox reseller closest to my location.
I gave them the knife, and I was told it was shipped to Switzerland for repair (I was not charged for the shipment).
But I'm pretty sure my knife was covered by warranty.
I suggest you to contact directly the Wenger distributor for Australia and ask them which are your best options.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #17 on:** May 09, 2012, 04:29:40 PM

Did you need a receipt?

basilio · **Reply #18 on:** May 09, 2012, 05:05:05 PM

No, as it was a knife almost 20 years old!
Anyway, found a correct link about Wenger warranty
http://www.wenger.ch/warranty-swiss-army-knives
Just contact the Wenger distributor

Smaug · **Reply #19 on:** May 09, 2012, 06:29:52 PM

I would mark this down as a lesson learned, and dedicate the knife as a work knife. Maybe leave it in a toolbox, in your car's glove box, or in a desk or side table drawer for general use.

On the plus side, the shorter blade is still long enough for most things, as long as it is kept sharp. Oh, and it is also the highly-desirable drop point shape now.

I don't think Wenger will help you out for free. Their warranty, at least in the US, is 5 years. Also, the knife did not fail in materials or workmanship, so it is not their fault anyway. But you should look up the details of their warranty on Wenger's Australian website and see for yourself.

I sent a Victorinox in for service. But I read their policy on their website first. It said that they offer a limited lifetime warranty, but they reserve the right to charge $5 for repairs resulting from abuse, rather than build problems. I figure that is fair enough. I enclosed a check for $5 and sent it off. (postage was about $1) The knife is worth about $35 new.

Wenger still makes their old Standard Issue model, and I think it goes for around $25 new. (at least in the US) Unless you had some compelling reason to buy the old one or the values are higher in Australia, you probably made a mistake there.

If it makes you feel any better, I bought a couple of Vic SAKs through ebay myself recently: An old Minichamp, and a Rambler. Both scales on the Rambler are slightly melted, so it is all I can do to get the toothpick out. Plus, it has an ad logo on it. The Minichamp's scissor pivot is shot, so the scissors will only cut paper now. I'm thinking about sending that one in for repair to the US Service center, but it has been a couple of weeks and I have not yet received the Executive back, so I'm not so sure...

At any rate, I can tell you not to send it in unless you are OK with waiting many weeks to get it back. Maybe Wenger is different, but I doubt it.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #20 on:** May 11, 2012, 07:49:24 AM

I contacted Wenger and sent them a picture by email.

They said its been modded so it can't be fixed

Some one wanna offer me $10 for it? Its a 81 knife!

Smaug · **Reply #21 on:** May 11, 2012, 01:27:45 PM

That's stupid and easy to get around.

It's modded because someone re-profiled the blade, because they broke it. So all you need to do is simply break that blade off with a pliers. Then, it will need repair on account of misuse, instead of modification.

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #22 on:** May 11, 2012, 03:55:27 PM

The person said he never seen a knife that was broken with proper use.

It seems that if the knife is broken by say you tried to open a paint tin, it snap and wenger can tell it was broken by a paint tin then wont replace it.

So they would be able to tell I broke it with pliers I would say.

Smaug · **Reply #23 on:** May 11, 2012, 09:25:45 PM

OK, so if you don't feel right pressing Wenger any more, then how about pressing the seller, who neglected to mention or properly illustrate this breakage? Not worth the time or money?

I know I wouldn't just fall over that easily if I were deceived on fleabay.

GigaHz · **Reply #24 on:** May 11, 2012, 09:58:42 PM

I thought the original eBay pictures were pretty clear?

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #25 on:** May 12, 2012, 05:23:12 AM

@Smaug
There were pictures of the knife. Yes he should said that it was just a broken knife but I don't think he actually knew and I should have seen the pictures.
Plus I would have to pay shipping back to America by tracking which would be about $30 I would say.

jzmtl · **Reply #26 on:** May 12, 2012, 06:31:32 AM

Yeah the auction pics were pretty clear, and item is sold as is. I'd just chuck the the knife into your toolbox or such and use it.

Currahee · **Reply #27 on:** May 12, 2012, 07:39:19 AM

I'm curious. How do you open that modified blade with no nail nick? Especially being that short you have no leverage, either. I guess that's the least of your worries with this particular knife, though. I would just file this under "lessons learned" and move on. Hopefully you will scrutinize the items you are interested in a whole lot more carefully in the future.

This experience, which in the scheme of things was rather inexpensive, may prove to be quite valuable and seem like a great deal at some point in the future. There's a Latin saying: "Caveat emptor." It means, let the buyer beware. Burn that into your consciousness and apply it in your life -- especially when you're shopping on eBay!!!

T.J. Hooker · **Reply #28 on:** May 12, 2012, 09:13:44 AM

I have to open it by the tip of the blade.

Its killing my nails!

I'll take this mistake as a lesson.

Any one wanna buy it?

jzmtl · **Reply #29 on:** May 12, 2012, 10:59:58 AM

Cut a slot with dremel to work as nail pick.

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Wenger knife warranty - Australia

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